Machine for making double-wall boxes



L. E. LA BOMBAR'D. MACHINE FOR MAKING DOUBLE WALL BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I8 I916.

Patented Sept. 7, 1920.

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L. E. LA BOMBARD.

MACHlN-E FOR MAKING DOUBLE WALL BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.18, 1916- Patnted Sept. 7,1920;

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Patented Sept. 7,1920.

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MACHINE FOR MAKING DOUBLE WALL BOXES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 18. me.

1,352,283. Paten tedSept. 7, 1920.

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LEON E. LA IBOIVIBARD, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SPECIALTYAUTO- MATIC MACHINE COMPANY. OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING DOUBLE-WALL BOXES.

Application filed Decemberls, 1916. Serial No. 137,535.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEON E. LA BOMBARD, of Chelsea, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines for Making Double-Wall Boxes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for automatically folding over themargins or edges of previously scored or creased paper or paste boardblanks for the production of what are known as double-side ordouble-wall boxes.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide improved means forinsuring accurate travel of the blanks through the machine, from thetime they leave the supply table, past the folding devices, and to thedelivery end of the machine.

Another object is to provide continuouslyoperating folder belts theedges of which act upon the portions of the blanks to be folded.

Another object is to provide. improved means for holding the carrierbelt down upon the work.

With these and other objects in view, my

invention consists in the construction and combination of partssubstantially as here-' inafter described and claimed.

0f the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a complete machine embodying myimprovements, a portion of one end being broken away.

Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal section of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a plan view.

F ig. i represents a transverse section of Fig. 3 on a larger scale. I r

Fig. 5 is anend view from the right of Fig. 1, on a larger scale.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to the middle portion of Fig. 2, on a largerscale.

F ig; 7 is a detail elevation of arts looking in the direction of thearrow in Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of parts looking in the direction of thearrow 8 in Fig. 3.

The supporting frame of the machine comprises sidebars 12 mounted uponsuitable leg supports 13. machine is an inclined table lat for theblanks 00, said table preferably having means whereby its angle ofinclination may be ad- Specification of Letters Patent.

At one end of the Patented Sept. a, teen.

justed. As the particular structure of the blank supporting table formsno part of my present invention, further description there" of will beunnecessary.

To feed the blanks and to carry them through the machine while theiredges are being glued and folded as hereinafter described, I provide anupper endless belt 15 and a lower endless belt 16. In practice the lowerbelt 16 is of leather although any suitable material may be employedtherefor. The upper belt 15, however, is of material possessing morereadily than leather the function of taking a frictional hold of theblanks.v An inelastic belt is best for this purpose, such belt having afoundation of inelastic fabric with an upper layer or facing ofrubber... This is because the upper belt is employed to take the blanksfrom the table 14 and assure their passage entirely through the machineproperly spaced. Said belt passes around a pulley 17 carried by a therelative positions of these parts being such that there is a spaceacross which the blanks must pass from one to the other. My invention,however, referring especially to the belt 15, provides for carrying theblanks through the machine with no opportunity for them to change theirspacing. This is because the carrier belt 15 serves also as a combingdevice for taking blanks singly and directly from the pile on the table14.

The lower belt 16 cooperates with the up-- per belt in carrying theblanks through the machine, said belt 16 being mounted at one end upon apulley-22 carried by shaft 23 and at the other end upon a pulley 24carried by a shaft 25, the shaft 20 having a gear '26 (Fig. 3) meshingwith a similar gear carried by the shaft 25.

' The upper belt passes over adjustable idle rolls 27, 28 to act as belttightening rolls, and the lower belt passes over rolls 29, 30, for asimilar purpose.

Referring partlcularly to Figs. 4 and 7, the upper stretch of the lowerbelt 16 passes over a series of rolls 31 mounted in suitable bearingscarried by a rigid bar 32 which is suitably chine. To hold the lowerstretch of the upper belt 15 in'proper proximity to the belt 16, Iemploy a series of rolls carried by a bar 33 which is rigidlysupportedby crossbars 34, 35, 36 (Figs. 1 and 2). Adjustably carried by the bar3.3 are rolls 37 yieldingly mounted in pairs. The rolls 37 of each pairhave their bearings in a pair of'parallel plates 38 (see also Fig. 4)the upper edges of whichproject up and overlap closely the sides of thebar 33. Secured between the two plates 38, near the middle thereof, is ablock 39, said block having a vertical aperture to receive the lower endof a screw loose lly v40. he threads of the screw do not extend into theblock 39, said screw being simply rotatively mounted in said block andretained therein by a cotter in 41, or other suitable retaining device.smooth lower portion of the screw is a washer 42 between which and thetop of the block 39,is a coiled spring 43. The threaded portion of eachscrew 40 engages a threaded aperture in the bar 33.

The structure just described enables each roll 37 to yield independentlyand yet the two rolls of each pair can simultaneously be adjusted tobear with greater or lesser pressure upon the lower stretch ofthe belt15, by turning the screw 40 in thebar 33. It will 'be readilyunderstood-that turning the screw down compresses the spring 43. Owingto the lower portion of the screw being formed like a smooth pin, theentire roller carriage of the rolls 37, act as guides for the edges ofthe belt 15. As so far described, a machine of this character would beadapted to carry blanks along from a table so that their edges or anyflap portions thereof might be folded by any preferred mechanism whichwould operate upon the edges or flaps while the blanks are traveling. Iwill now describe the particular edge folding mechanism adapted for theproduction of what are known as double wall boxes. Such boxes areusually made from paper or pasteboard blanks each longitudinal edge ofwhich has two parallel creases so that the outer edge ortion can befolded over and glued'to the inner edge portion, and then the doublesupported by the frame of the ma-- ounted on the thick part so formedcan be afterward strips of suitable ad esive, referred to as glue, totheunder surfaces of the extreme outer edges of the blanks and to thenfold those portions down and in and up against the adjacent undersurfaces of the blanks, so as to form the parts which are later topresent the double-thick or double-wall sides of the boxes. It is to beunderstood that during this operation, the belts 15 and 16 grip themiddle portions of the blanks so as to carry said blanks alongpositively and without liability of twisting or turning askew so thatthe folding devices presently explained will operate properly.

Referring to Fig. 3, two glue boxes 44 are mounted on suitable crossrods of the machine, so that they can be laterally adjusted according tothe width of blanks being operated upon. Projecting up through an oening in each glue box is a glue wheel 45.

1, 2, 3 and 4) for carrying the folder mechaarallel with themid-widthbars 32, 33,-. i and on each side thereof, is a bar.46 (Figs.

nism presently described. Each bar 46 is i The bar sections 46 arerecessed toreceive rolls'51 as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, therecessedportions having side lates to carry the stud bearings for said ro ls.Two belts 52 are mounted, at one end, upon the pulleys 48, and at theirotherlends upon pulleys 53 carried by the shaft 20, and pass under therolls 51. The two belts 52 press upon the marginal portions of the blankthe under surfaces of which are supported by the lower or folding beltshereinafter described. The lower edges of the side plates which coverthe recessed portions of the bars .46, act as guides for the outer edgesof the-belts 52 as indicated in Fig. 4.

Projecting outwardly from each of the bars 46 are three pins 54 (Figs. 3and 6) upon each of which is clamped a split block 55 so that said blockcan be adjusted toward or from the side of the bar 46. Secured to oneside of each block 55 is another split block 56 to accommodate thevertical pin 57 projecting upwardl from the bar whlch controls the loweror olding belt 58 (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6). The bar for controlling orguiding each of the. lower belts 58 is made in two sections 59, 60, theouteredgesofthe bars being thicker than the inner portions ber carryinga vertical pivot 62 upon which is mounted one end of the bar section 60.

This constitutes practically a universal joint between the two barsections 59, 60, so that while each bar as a whole may be verticallyadjusted by means of the pins 57 in clamp blocks 56 they may belaterally adjusted by means of the clamp blocks 55 on pins 54. Theseadjustments enable me to operate on blanks of difi'erent thickness orquality of material. Each bar section 60 is vertically inclined asindicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, and is laterally inclined as shown inFig. 3, these angles of inclination being capable of variation by meansof the clamp block and pin structure described. As shown in Fig. 6, oneend of the bar section 60 has a bracket 63 carrying a pulley 64 for oneend of the belt 58, the other end of said belt being mounted upon apulley 65 carried by shaft 25 (Fig. 2).

To impart a preliminary fold to the narrow edge portions of the blanksso as to turn themdown to position where they will be acted upon by theinner edges of the belts 58, I provide two folder bars or rods 66 (Figs.1, 2 and 3) each having a shank 67 mounted in a universal blockconnection 68 (similar to the one indicated at 55, 56 and 57 in Fig. 6),carried by-a pin 69 projecting from a bracket 70 carried by bar 46.These rods 66 extend closely adjacent to the pulleys 64 so that afterthey turn down the extreme edges of the blank, they will keep control ofsaid edges until they turnthem down to a practically vertical positionto carry said edges just inside of the inner edges of the folding belts58. As will be readily understood from Fig. 6 when the belts 58 firsttake control of the blank edges, they do so by contact with said edgesat a considerable distance from the line of the crease along which theblank has been broken down by the rod 66. Of course it will beunderstood that the blanks are previousl creased on the intended foldinglines, be ore they are fed to the machine. To insure the breaking downor preliminary folding of the blanks correctly on their creased line, Iemplo inside formers, each consisting of a bar 1, (Figs. 1, 2 and 6)carried by a bracket and by another similar bracket 72, each of the bars71 having a tapered extension 73 the extreme end of whichreaches to apoint close to the hinge connection of bars 59 and 60, as shown in Fig.6. Said bars 71 and their tapering extensions 73 support thebuterportions of the blanks as they are fed, not only during the operation ofthe folder rods 66 but also after the blanks have passed beyond saidrods and passed under the upper belts 52.

As the marginal portions of each blank pass from the left hand portionof Fig. 6 to the right hand portion, the point .of contact of the inneredges of each folding belt 58 gradually shifts upwardly to approach thecrease line of the blank. As shown in Fig. 3, the lateral inclination ofthe portion of each folding belt 58 which first acts upon the blank, issuch that said belt gradually extends under the belt 52 so as to carrywith it the turned under edge of the blank until, as it reaches thedischarge end of the machine, it is folded flat between the two belts52, 58, as. indicated in Fig. 4. All of the folding operation of thebelts 58 is by their inner edges, while. the pressing operation, in'cooperation with the belts 52, is performed by their flat surfaces. Bythis construction I am able to keep a better control of the edges orflaps of the blanks which are to be folded, when said edges orflaps arenarrow,-than can be effected by means of twist belts or a succession ofdifferent folding members.

The control is continuous; that is, there is no interruption or break inthe control, and at thesame time I am able to turn the flaps or edgesin, and flat against, the body of the blank by an action which graduallyprogresses from the extreme edges of the blanks toward the creased linesthereof. By this means I avoid, or greatly reduce, the tendency of thefolding means to exert such pressure, close to the crease lines, as toproduce improper folding, or to buckle: the blank or otherwise divertit'from a correct fold on the creased lines.

It is to be understood, of course, that all .the parts which need to belaterally adjusted for blanks of varying widths are provided with meansto enable the proper adjustments to be effected. As such means form nopart of this invention a detailed description thereof is unnecessary.'Of course the table 14 has laterally adjustable side guides for thezlilanks, such side guides being indicated a When the blanks pass beyondthe vertical plane of shafts 20, 25, they pass between two pressingrolls 75 (Figs. 2 and 5). Below said rolls is mounted a large roll ordrum 76 for a delivery belt 77 leading to any suitable mechanism such asa stacker. I prefer to vary the speed of the belt 77 relatively to thespeed of travel of the blanks through the machine. To this end, theshaft 78 of the drum 76 has a worm wheel 79 (Fig. 8)

which is driven by a worm 80 carried by a 86 secured to shaft 81-,yieldingly holds the disk 83 in contact with the disk 82. Said disk 82is provided with any suitable means prising an inclined table 1 nisinswhereby it may be adjusted lengthwise of shaft 20 so as to act upon disk83 at such desired distance from the axis of rotation of the disk as toimpart the required speed of rotation to shaft 78 of the delivery drumand belt. Inasmuch as the driving connections, including the particulargearing, form no part of the present invention, de-

tailed description of such parts thereof as in the drawings areunnecessary herein. Inasmuch as the operations of the several parts ofthe machine have been described in connection with the description ofthe structures thereof, a generaL description of the operation of themachine as a whole will be unnecessary.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A machine having folding devices for box blanks, a pair of coactingcarrier belts for causing. the blanks to travel while being folded, anda table for a pile of blanks, said table being in position to cause oneof the belts to comb the blanks singly from the table.

2. A folding machine of the character dew scribed, comprising upper andlower coactbl nks held between said belts, and a stationary table fordelivering blanks singly and directly to the nip of said belts.-

3. A. folding machine of the character described, comprising upper andlower coacting carrier belts, folders for operating on blanks heldbetween said belts, an inclined table for a pile of blanks, and asupport for the front edges of blanks on the table, said support beingmost blank of said belts.

4. A. machine for folding blanks, comappear the pile directly to the nipof mechanisms for folding the blanks, and means for automaticallygripping the blanks at said table and, carrying them continuouslygripped past the foldingmechanisms.

5. A machine for folding blanks, comprising an inclined table for theblanks, mechafor folding the blanks, and means for frictionally grippingthe blanks at said (table and carrying them continuously gripped pastthe folding mechanisms.

6. In a machine of the character described, a table for a pile ofblanks, folders for acting on portions of the blanks, a single endlessfriction carrier for taking the blanks singly directlyfrom the table andpassing them through the machine, and means cooperating with saidcarrier to preserve frictional contact thereof with the blanks.

7. In a folding machine for paper blanks, an endless carrier belt, afixed support para} lel with the operative portion of the belt, a seriesof yieldingly mounted adjustable carrier belts, folders for operatingonpositioned to guide the top for the blanks,

bearing on said belt, and means cooperating V with said belt for foldingblanks carried thereby.

9. In a foldingmachine having a pair of cooperating belts, a fixed baradjacent and parallel with the operative portion of one of said belts,and a series of belt pressing devices carried by said bar, each ofsaiddevices comprising a pair of plates, a block connecting the plates, apair of rolls carried by the plates, a screw engaging a threadedaperture in said bar and loosely engaging the block, and a springbearing on said block.

10. In a folding machine having a pair of cooperating belts, a fixed baradjacent and parallel with the operative portion of one of said belts,and a series of belt pressing devices carried by said bar, each of saiddevices comprising a pair of plates overlapping the sides of the bar andbelt, rolls carried by the plates, and means for yieldingly means forcarrying blanks between said belts with their portions to be folded incontact with the edges of said belts, means being provided for varyingthe amount of lateral diversion of said belts.

.13. In a machine of the character described means for causing blanks totravel, folding belts having their operative portions partly inclinedrelatively to, and partly parallel with, the plane of travel of theblanks; said belts being mounted to present their inner edges to theportions of the blanks to be folded 14. in a machine of the characterdescribed means for causingblanks to travel,

tive portions from a straight path, andthe blanks to be folded, the saidinclined portions of the belts being also laterally inclined.

15. In a blankfolding machine, means for causing the blanks totravel,-belts having fiat portions presented edgewise to the portions ofthe blanks to be folded, and means for guiding said portions of theblanks to position to be acted upon by the inner edges of said belts.

16. In a machine of the character described, a pair of folding belts,means for causing blanks to travel between the inner edges of saidbelts, and flat guides for portions of said belts, said guides beingvertically and laterally inclined relatively to the path of travel ofthe blanks;

17. In a machine of the character described, a pair of folding belts,means for causing blanks to travel between the inner edges of saidbelts, and flat guides for the operative portions of said belts, each ofsaid guides comprising two sections. end to end, the sections betweenwhich the blanks first enter being inclined relatively to the otherguide sections.

18. In a machine scribed, a pair of folding belts, means for causinblanks to travel between the inner edges g f said belts, and flat guidesfor the operative portions of said belts, each of said guides comprisingtwo sections end to end, the sections between which theblanks firstenter being inclined relatively to the other guide sections, means beingprovided for varying the angles of inclination of the last-mentionedsections.

of the character de-- In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

LEON E. LA BOMBARD.

